Did you miss me??

Wow, where has the summer gone? I missed most of June and all of July on here. It isn't like I was doing anything fantastically important either. lol Mostly school work and cooking and cleaning. Loads of fun. I'm really sad that we couldn't take a vacation this year - being broke will do that to you.

Things are beginning to look up for us, however. I GOT A JOB!!! :) Finally, after three full years of being mostly unemployed (Bath and Body Works was fun, but not the office job I wanted and certainly not enough hours!), I am going back into an office where I will feel useful again. I know, I know, being a great wife, mom and student should have been enough, but with our ridiculous house payment, there has been LOADS of financial stress. Monday, I will grace the offices of Wiley Publishing in Indianapolis with my presence. hehehe It starts off as a temp assignment, thank you to Office Team, and will hopefully lead to something full time once the project is over. Keep my family in your prayers that this works out for us!!

Tonight, the hubster and I are headed to Harrison College to schedule our fall classes. I'm thinking mine might have to be all online or directed studies again due to the schedule for my new job. Monday through Friday, 10am to 6:30pm. Different, but I still don't have to fight early morning rush hour or even afternoon rush hour. I'll take it!! hahaha  After scheduling, we might just pop on over to Anderson University to check out the Colts. I'm so excited for football to be back in action! I would love to meet Dallas Clark. That would be the ultimate!

Have a great day everyone! Remember to treat others the way you want to be treated and surround yourselves with positive self-talk!

In His Love,

Melissa

Extreme Adventure

Imagine my surprise last Friday when I opened my email to find a message from Marsh Supermarkets announcing that they were TRIPLING coupons for four days to celebrate Memorial Day!! As a novice couponer, I was really excited for this to be my first attempt at being extreme. I'd had several small trips that I was able to do well on, but nothing like the people on TV.

So... Friday evening, my hubster and I set out for the Pendleton Marsh and tried our hand at this.

We picked up 12 packages of hot dogs, 4 Compleats Meals, 8 yogurts, 3 flavored mayos, 4 spaghetti sauces, 5 protein bars, 2 prepared sides, 10 ears of corn, 2 different boxes of cracker chips, a package of doggie treats and two containers of cat litter.

Our first transaction total before coupons was $125.87. Marsh card savings = $33.24, Manufacturer coupons = $22.08, BONUS tripled coupons = 37.43 for a grand savings total of $97.25, 75%. $32.03 out of pocket. Awesome!!

The second transaction was $21.06. Marsh savings = 4.21, Manufacturer coupons = $4.50, BONUS = $9.00 for a grand savings total of $17.71, 84%,  and $3.35 out of pocket.

As you can imagine, that whet my appetite for savings, so I planned a shopping trip with my mom for Saturday afternoon. There were TONS of people there with their binders, accordion files and envelopes. It was fantastic. I also gave several coupons away that I wouldn't be able to use before the expiration date.      Here's our take:

 Transaction #1 was $277.40. Marsh savings = $36.74, Mfr coupons = $54.80, BONUS = $103.38, 71%. The first transaction had most of the meat on it, so the savings were expected to be a little lower. Still quite impressive though!! :)

The second was a little bit smaller and started out at $185.64. Marsh savings = $41.67, Mfr coupons = $36.55, BONUS = $67.10, 78% and $40.32 out of pocket. This one had the rest of the meat. Still not too shabby!!

 The third transaction was quite a bit smaller and had the duplicate items that we had to break out due to triple coupon limits. It started out at $70.76. Marsh savings = $13.96, Mfr coupons = $14.45, BONUS = $28.90, 82% and $13.45 out of pocket. Pretty darn cool!!

The final transaction was one jar of peanut butter. It was $1.99 and I had a $0.50 coupon that tripled to $1.50, making the peanut butter $0.49.

And that's the extent of our trip on Saturday.

 The whole thing took about 5 hours from the time we left my house to the time we returned and the store was in Noblesville - less than 20 minutes away. My cashier, Kari, was awesome! She helped keep track of the coupons and products to make sure we got all the savings we planned on. Our check out guy high fived me when it was all said and done and we had saved $399.04. He couldn't wait to tell his mom about it!! lol

I took a bunch of pictures of my haul, obviously, so that you could see all the stuff we got. It was a great time but extremely exhausting. I can't wait to do it again! :) Happy couponing to you all!!

In His Love,

Melissa

The Secret to Saving Coupon Contest

Hey everyone!! I know I've been gone a while, but I'm back. For a minute anyway!! lol

My first post of the day is about a contest I've entered to receive an envelope filled with coupons for FREE items. Go to The Secret to Saving and follow the entry instructions for your chance to win also. Good luck!!

I'll post my most recent extreme shopping trip shortly.

In His Love,

Melissa

Can't Save You - Dan Haseltine (Jars of Clay)

LOVE this song. Heard it when Brian and I watched "What If" on Netflix on demand tonight. Beautiful movie and beautiful song. I hope you enjoy it!!

In His Love,

Melissa

Go ahead and laugh... ;)

I have a newly self-diagnosed disorder... OCD or Obessive Coupon Disorder. Hahahahaha. I saw that on a blog and had to use it because it is so true! I'm spending hours on Facebook and Twitter these days, not to socialize, but to scour for coupons. My hubster makes fun of me yet he looks for them as well!! lol He even asked some of his friends at work who collect sports cards where to find the pocket pages I was looking for to organize my coupon binder. Guess what? One of them GAVE him about 30 six-pocket pages for me. How exciting is that? Once I get my daughter and her husband moved in, I will be able to spend a little bit of time getting organized. I can't wait for my first BIG coupon shop. I've done a couple of small ones already and was absolutely thrilled to see that I saved 87% off my total by using coupons and a customer rewards card. YAY!!!

 So, here is a picture of my binder, pages and my stack of coupons to be sorted and filed.

And this is my pretty pink and brown binder to put all the coupons in!! I got this several years ago when I attempted to be a student at UoP. (I don't recommend that anyone goes there - at least not the Indy campus!!)


Look for more updates as I get the hang of this!! :)

Until next time...

In His Love,

Melissa

Work in Process

Hey all! The post wedding blog will be coming up soon. I'm waiting on the pictures from our photographer so I can do a slide show and share the entire day with you. It was cold, rainy and windy, but that couldn't dampen the beautiful day!! Some funny stories to share in the next update as well.

For now... it's time for me to get ready for school tonight. This should be fun!! lol

Until next time... ;)

Pre-Wedding Jitters...

Ok, not really - I don't think anyone is really nervous or jittery. Ready to be done with all this, but not nervous at all.  So I promised that I would share pictures of some of the stuff we have prepared for the wedding and here goes...

 This is the flower girl basket that my mom re-worked. When we bought it, it had wine colored satin on it. My mom was able to remove it and replace it with these VIBRANT hot pink and lime green colors. ;) I think it turned out quite nice!!

 The ring bearer pillow also turned out quite nicely after being re-worked by my mom.

 The cupcake holders we found to match the wedding colors.

 The bubbles with the whimsical ribbon tied to the tops. These are really funny looking with all 100 of them in the box together. Reminds me of the stick people Ciara used to draw when she was little. That's how she drew their hair. Too funny!!

 The beautiful bridal bouquet. Michael's mother made this one and the rest of the bridal party bouquets. I think they are fantastic!!

 Two hearts wedding topper...

 Two hearts unity candles...

 Two hearts guest sign-in pen and holder...

 Two hearts guest book...

 Aisle runner...

Glasses for the wedding toast before the ribbons were changed out to the wedding colors. I don't have an after picture yet but you'll see them in the wedding pictures!! :)

So this is just a small amount of the actual wedding stuff that is accumulated between four houses.  We have an arch, lights, table cloths, center pieces and a ton of food and other stuff all waiting to arranged in fairy tale bliss next Saturday, April 16th.

I pray that the marriage will turn out to be as beautiful as the wedding is going to be!!

In His Love,

Melissa

Europe - The Final Countdown

Had to go find it and share... LOVE THIS SONG!! lol

It's The Final Countdown...

Ok, ok, cheesy, I know but I love that song!! lol We are in the final week before my oldest daughter, Brianna, gets married. Nearly everything is ready, besides food of course, and we're working out all the final details. The wedding is going to be beautiful and, hopefully, fun. We were able to score some DJ equipment, if the guys ever calls me back again, to borrow free of charge so we can do all the silly "event" dances. Electric slide, chicken dance, etc. WATCH OUT!! lolol Maybe I'll share some video since I know there's going to be at least 1 video camera there and possibly more.

In other news, I've started my fourth quarter with Harrison College and it looks like it's gonna be a good one! Cost Accounting, Word Processing and Spreadsheets (or blah, blah, blah if your name is Jenn!!). It's a short quarter too... only 11 weeks instead of 12. Brings me closer and closer to graduation with each class!!


Well, that's all the update you're getting tonight... :) I'll try to do a wedding "PRE" blog this weekend with pictures of some of the items we've purchased for the ceremony and reception. That way, especially if your name is Jenn lol, you can attend vicariously through my blog. :)

In His Love,

Melissa

A Time For Change

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!! Hope you're wearing your green!! I'm sitting here in my lovely green nightgown while I type away. lol We've had a lot going on recently, as most of you know. We had a death in the family last week and laid my uncle to rest on Saturday. Got to connect with a lot of old friends and relatives that we hadn't seen in years. Sad that weddings and funerals are what always bring us all together.

Speaking of weddings... the invitations will be going out next Monday - if I can get those two to take their butts somewhere and register!! They are dragging their feet on this yet pushing me to get the wedding stuff done. How fair is that? hahahaha

After the wedding, they will be moving in with the hubster and me, so we've been diligently working on cleaning out the spare bedroom that we've been using for storage for them. And their little alien? Has a heartbeat and little nubs for arms and legs!! Brianna had her first ultrasound last week and brought her pictures over to share with us. So exciting! As she progresses in her pregnancy, I am getting more excited about meeting my first grandchild. Whoa... that makes me sound old! Oh, well, I AM old. lol

Ciara is still dating Trey and today is their 2 month-iversary. :) They are so cute together and we really like him. Plus... he makes her do her homework!! Bahahahaha!

The biggest change around here recently though is in the house. I decided that we didn't need a formal dining room anymore because we only used it for storage. The problem with that being a storage room is that it's the first room you see when you walk into our house. Not good. So, we got a couple of inexpensive (and quite flimsy) bookshelves from BigLots and the hubster used brackets and anchors to stabilize them and bolt them to the wall for sturdiness. Then, I brought down our little short bookshelves and all of our books and turned the room into a library. I love it!! It's quite possibly my favorite room in the house now (next to my bath tub, of course!! lol) I still need to move my cedar chest down there - which might happen today - to finish it off, but here's a couple of pics to show you what I've done so far. I'm really pleased with it...

Now we just need to change out the light fixture to one that won't cause head injuries and we'll pretty much be done till we can afford to paint the entire downstairs. I'm no longer embarrassed when people walk in my front door and see this room!

Also, don't forget my Scentsy party this Saturday at 2pm here at my house. If you want to shop online, go here and click on "order from show" next to my name. I would love to see you all there!! We'll have refreshments and some "cash and carry" items for you to check out!!

Well, it's time for me to get some other housework done and later I'll be finishing up week 11 homework. Only one week of the quarter left!! Yeah!

In His Love,

Melissa

Saying Goodbye

Today I spent the morning with my mom planning a memorial luncheon for my Uncle Slim. We got enough food to feed a small army of friends and family and hopefully provide some loving comfort after the funeral.

Tomorrow we say goodbye.

My uncle was a character and I have so many fond memories of him. We all prayed that God would heal him of his cancer and He did... just not the way we would have liked. Of course, we all wanted him here just a little while longer. God had a bigger plan for Slim and I pray that we'll see him again on the other side of the clouds.

For those of you who are local, the public viewing is tomorrow morning at 11am at Wilson St. Pierre Funeral Home in Pendleton. The funeral is at 1pm followed by the graveside service at Grovelawn Cemetery. The same cemetery my dad is buried in.

Funerals are hard on me. I've only been able to force myself to attend a few over the years. My dad, my father-in-law and my Uncle Jim about 19 years ago. These are the only ones I've been able to force myself to sit through. Usually I get as far as the lobby and I'm done. Completely overwhelmed with grief and anxiety. I pray that I can maintain my composure tomorrow and be a source of support for my other family members who will be there.  Please pray for my Aunt Rose that her transition from wife to widow will be gentle and she will be encircled by the love and comfort of Jesus.

In His Love,

Melissa

Wedding Mania

So, as most of you know, my daughter, Brianna, is getting married in April. We've been caught up in a whirlwind of wedding planning for the past few weeks. As of right now, we have the building, the dress, the maid of honor dress, the unity candle with bases, the guest book and pen, the flower girl basket and ring bearer pillow, the hot pink rose petals, the cake topper, the tablecloths, some decorative lighting, and I'm sure a few other things. I have printed all of the invitations and RSVP cards. I need to print the registry cards - gotta get those kids registered somewhere first!- and basic maps to the location. Then we need to purchase the zillions of stamps and address the envelopes and get them mailed.  There are so many details!! The funny part about all of this is how invested the hubster is. He keeps bringing up different aspects and sometimes it's something really important that none of us even considered before then. Such a good, good man! I absolutely adore my hubster.

In the next couple of weeks, my mom, MIL and I will be finalizing the purchases for the reception. The food and cakes are going to be FABULOUS!! I wish we knew someone who DJ's who was available very inexpensively, but we may just have to make our own mixed cds. How 80's is that? lol One of the coolest parts of the ceremony itself is that our longtime friend, Trent, is actually performing the ceremony. He's way cool! :)

I can't wait for the wedding day... it's going to be really nice to see friends and family members we haven't seen in a long time. Plus... the hubster's gonna dance with me!! He thinks I'm beautiful.

In His Love,

Melissa

Craziness!!

Well, the past two weeks have been a little crazy around here. We've been making wedding plans, baby plans and the newlyweds moving in here plans. We've dealt with migraines, fevers, colds and general illness amongst the three of us. And last night, we had the mother of all storms! Not far from our house, a house and pole barn were completely destroyed. There is debris all over the neighborhood - even found a turtle sandbox in my backyard this morning. Thunder, lightening, hail, 120mph winds. It was scary once I woke up and realized what was going on. Hubster and I were sleeping when his mom called and his brother's wife started texting asking if we were ok. My response? "Yeah, why?" lol Had no clue the storm was so bad. Then I was awake for hours waiting for it to pass and now I'm exhausted. Ciara slept through the whole thing and was fresh and ready for the day when I woke her for school this morning. That kid can sleep through almost anything!!

Please pray for my family in Indianapolis with flood damage. Water was running in through the basement walls and all of their windows. They got hit much harder than we did.

Now I'm going to spend the next few hours working on accounting homework since I blew it off for the past two weeks (we didn't have class last week so I didn't do the assignments) and it's all due tonight, plus a test. Ugh. I hate it when I procrastinate like this. Oh, well... here I go.

In His Love,

Mel

Valentine's Love...

Do you love chocolate? Then Valentine's Day is the perfect holiday for you! My hubster and I both love chocolate and today I tried a new recipe that I found on the side of the Nestle Toll House Cocoa container. Chewy Cocoa Brownies. Omigosh, these are so good! I went to CVS and purchased two individual heart-shaped pans for $1.00 each. I already had a tub of classic chocolate icing in the pantry, so we were set. I filled each pan and baked them for 18 minutes. After they cooled for about 5 minutes, I turned them out onto a pretty, white square plate and glazed them with melted chocolate icing and then topped with pink colored sugar sprinkles. Since we can't afford to do much for each other as far as gifts, these chewy, gooey, iced brownies are perfect for sharing a little extra love. The recipes for the brownies and the colored sugar are below. Enjoy!!

Chewy Cocoa Brownies
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) melted butter or margarine
2 Tbsp water
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Nestle Toll House Cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts (Optional)
powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 x 9 inch pan (or individual pans)

2. Combine granulated sugar, butter and water in large bowl. Stir in eggs and vanilla extract. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in medium bowl; stir into sugar mixture. Stir in nuts. Spread into prepared baking pan.

Bake for 18 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into bars.

Melted Chocolate Icing

Spoon a couple of tablespoons of chocolate icing into a microwave safe dish and microwave for 30 seconds.
Stir until completely smooth. Drizzle over brownies.

Colored Sugar Sprinkles
Place 2 tablespoons sugar into a small dish with a lid. Add 2 - 3 drops red food coloring. Place the lid on the container and make sure it seals. Shake until all sugar is colored and food coloring is absorbed. Sprinkle over glazed brownies.

I hope you all enjoy these brownies! My hubster and I sure did!!

In His Love,

Melissa

Pampers Village: Connect with real parents like you!

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On Pampers Village, you can share tips, support, and experiences with real parents like you. You’ll discover more about parenthood through articles, videos, and online tools, and receive offers, samples, and coupons!

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Unlocked - A Book Review

Unlocked, written by Karen Kingsbury tells the story of an eighteen-year-old boy imprisoned by autism and how music and a childhood friend begin to unlock the young man inside. This book also explores broken friendships, bullying and teen suicide. Published by Zondervan, ISBN: 978-0-310-26695-2 in 2010, this book appeals to people who enjoy Christian fiction and heartfelt stories about real people in everyday-life situations.

                Author, Karen Kingsbury, has written more than 50 novels (Karen Kingsbury, 2010), many of which have landed in the top ten on national selling lists. Many readers have followed Ms. Kingsbury through the trials, tribulations and triumphs of the Baxter family, the series that eventually flowed into the Above the Line series. It was this series that first introduced fans to the story of Unlocked in the final story titled Take 4. The story was about a Christian Film Production team that was making a feature movie based on a top-selling novel. After writing Take 4, the final book in the Above the Line series, Karen wrote a note to her friends stating that the story was so touching that she simply had to write the book (Kingsbury, 2010).

                The lead character in Unlocked is Holden Harris who has been autistic since the age of three. When he started showing signs of being “abnormal”, his parents’ best friends began to break contact and finally moved away when the father was drafted to a professional baseball team. This is where we first meet Ella. She was Holden’s childhood friend who laughed, danced and sang with him in the backyard while their moms drank iced tea and watched. As autism began to take hold of Holden and he became less and less communicative, Ella began to cry and beg him to play with her. Her parents began making excuses not to see the Harris’s until finally they lost all contact. Over the years, Holden’s parents tried every therapy available to try and bring him out of the prison that held him captive. It wasn’t until his senior year of high school that something finally worked. 

                Ella Reynolds is also a high school senior at Fulton High and she has just landed the lead role of Belle in the hit musical “Beauty and the Beast”.  She is the product of parents trapped in a false marriage that is unhappy and shallow. Her dad, famous baseball player Randy Reynolds, is trying his hardest to get a spot on a major league team while her mother, Suzanne, is getting Botox, tanning and working out in a constant effort to maintain her beauty and recapture her husband’s attention. With her parents being out of touch, Ella begins a friendship with Holden after meeting him at one of her musical rehearsals. At first, she does not remember Holden from so long ago yet she is drawn to him. Ella stands up for Holden when the football star, her boyfriend Jake Collins, and his friends bully him in the halls. She befriends Michael Schwartz, another labeled “loser”, who plays the flute and is also a friend of Holden’s.

                Behind the main story of autism, there is a sub-story about bullying that involves Michael Schwartz and Jake Collins. The harassing behavior becomes so bad that one day after school, despite invitations from new found friends Ella and LaShante, Michael goes home and contemplates suicide. After a couple of hours, he takes a jump rope, makes a noose and hangs himself. In the final seconds, Kingsbury shows his change of heart and yearning to live, but it is too late. The school is rocked with the news of Michael’s death the next morning. Karen Kingsbury covers this issue of teen suicide in depth, covering the emotions of Michael himself as well as the effect on his parents, friends, school and community. She uses this situation to show how one student can step up after a tragedy and make a difference. She uses Ella Reynolds to organize a memorial for Michael at Fulton High with mandatory attendance of all students. It is during this memorial where the healing begins for several people, including Tracy and Suzanne who cautiously begin to mend their friendship. The memorial also shows the entire school the beauty that is locked inside Holden Harris as he sings a song dedicated to his friend, Michael.

                In the final chapters of this story, Holden Harris is cast as the Prince for the final scene of Beauty and the Beast where he will sing and dance with Ella’s Belle. It is in this role that Holden begins to communicate more effectively and become less afflicted by people touching him. His parents and Ella’s parents are thrilled with his progress and Holden, himself, is happy simply to be with Ella. In the end, Holden asks Ella, “Can I give you a hug?” She says, “Yes, yes you can.”

                This story gives a very strong foundation of a child with autism. Karen Kingsbury has done the research and shows the different therapies, the PECS cards that people with autism use to communicate, the effects of autism on the parents of the child and how sometimes a person comes back from the mental prison of autism. She also covers the issues of bullying, teen suicide and community after a tragedy. By bringing these characters to life, a reader can understand these issues first hand and see the consequences of untamed bullies.

This book is definitely one that should be read by all because of how personal it is. There are moments of true sorrow and exquisite happiness and all the ranges of emotions in between. Writing this story, Karen Kingsbury has proven that she belongs on all the national top sellers’ lists. You can find her other novels, including several series and stand alone titles, at www.karenkingsbury.com.

Blog-challenged...

Well, I've been fighting a pretty nasty cold/flu thing for the past couple weeks and thought that I had written some posts to publish periodically. Obviously, they didn't post AND they're not in saved posts. Hmmmm... Pretty sure it was operator error. Anyway, I'm feeling better and my head is a little less foggy so I'm back on track. This week should be post-erific!! lol Look for some recipes I found, a couple of book reviews and some family updates.  Have a great weekend and upcoming week!!

In His Love,
Mel

Happy Tuesday!

I know, I know... I've been gone for almost a week and you thought I was going to bail on this blogging thing again. I know. The reality is that I've had an eye infection of some sort and could not see out of my left eye for the past few days. The other days? I don't really have an excuse for those except I've been focusing on my schoolwork and trying to maintain my 4.0 GPA. This quarter is proving to be the most difficult so far, but I'm still managing straight A's - it just takes me a little longer than usual.

Add to all of this that I have now received 3 books to review and a fourth one is on the way. I need to crack down on these as well since I asked for them. I have to be able to see, however. My eye is much better today, but I still look like I've been crying for about a MONTH! Between the eye drops, ointment and allergy medication, I'm hoping to be better in a couple more days. The accompanying headache has been pretty killer as well. I missed class last night because I was blind and nauseated because of my eye. UGH!!!

OK, I'm off to go discuss this boyfriend thing with the hubster. The boyfriend's mother seems to adore Ciara so far and want her to come to dinner. She's 14. I don't know how I feel about that. Pray for us please... especially for Ciara!! lol

In His Love,

Melissa

Planning Our Escape... from the snow!!

As many mid-westerners know, we have had a horrible winter so far. With snow and ice and rain... I'm in a constant fog from sinus and allergy problems and barometric pressure changes.  I really just want to move away. Like yesterday. So... I've been spending some time researching Arizona. I have read many articles and relocation websites that explain the weather, dry heat, shopping, job market, tourist attractions and just about anything else you can think of regarding this desert state.  The site I've spent the MOST time on, however, is www.realtor.com.  I love this site. You can set all the parameters of the area, type of house, square footage, school districts (which won't matter since my last kid will graduate before we actually move), and external features like SWIMMING POOLS!!! I have perused houses in my perception of our budget at that time (haha) and then I have perused houses in my dream budget. The reality of it all is that when it's time to move it will most likely be just me and the hubster since Ciara plans to go to college here and Brianna will be married by then (and most definitely NOT living with us!!). So maybe we don't really need a big house with all the bells and whistles - just a really nice kitchen, master bedroom/bathroom and a pool.  Yeah... that will be satisfactory. lol

Stay warm and enjoy your loved ones!!

In His Love,
Melissa

Official Book Reviewer

Hello my dear friends! I just wanted to share the news that I have been accepted into several book reviewer programs in the past couple of days.  I am awaiting the arrival of 3 books from three different programs. I am working on getting all of the links posted to the side over there so you can check these sites out as well. You should know, I am only signing up with Christian based programs because I have no interest in reading lusty, sex-filled, foul-language laden books. The books I have requested all promise to be full-filling and inspiring.

On a separate note, please pray for my hubster. He's on day 3 of a migraine that has had him nauseated, dizzy and excessively tired. He's bugging me a LOT too!! Making me absolutely. :-) Just kidding, I really don't mind taking care of him. I don't like to see him sick.

Have a great day everyone!

In His Love,

Melissa

Snow Day... sort of

Today is 1-11-11 - my baby sister's 36th birthday. Happy Birthday Shell!! Guess that means I'm going to turn 40 in July. Ugh. That sounds so OLD to me! lol Anyway, she posted on FaceBook earlier that she got exactly what she wanted... SNOW. She must have hit her head. I despise snow and have not left my house today because of it. :-)

On a good note, my hubster stayed home with me today! We spent most of our time on the couch together watching Criminal Minds Season 5 on DVD. We really love that show and have every season so far. Even the current season is sitting in our DVR storage - every single episode. We really do love that show. It's the only show that we ever plan our life around. Other than Colts football, of course. lol

Tonight, I'm making some wonderful winter comfort food - homemade shepherd's pie. YUMMO! It smells so good while it's bubbling away. Can't wait to eat dinner!! I've been getting braver in trying new recipes lately. Maybe I'll start posting some of them here for everyone to share. How about leaving me a comment below and let me know if you're interested? That would be awesome.

Something else fun I've started doing as of today is book reviewing.  I signed up with two companies and got my acceptance emails today. They send me a book, I read it, and then I write a review for it. The best part... I get to read books that I'm interested in and keep them for FREE! And, they get help spreading the word about their authors and book products when people read my blog. Even trade in my opinion.

I'll be looking for other sites to sign up with to review plus I'll write about my recipes, craft projects, school progress and whatever crazy stuff happens in my life. I might even include some pictures in my future posts.

I hope that everyone is safe and warm tonight in spite of all the snow. And if you're in a warm state... please know that I am extremely jealous of you right now!! lol

In His Love,
Melissa

Happy New Year!

OK, so it's actually the 10th, but who's counting? It's still a new year and this is my first blog of the year. OK, it's my first blog since March of last year because I have failed at my previous attempts to be a blogger. This time, however, I'd like to use my blog to promote book reviews, music reviews, fun recipes, and other stuff that I find along the way.

For those of you who have read all of my previous posts... No. I have not worked on that book one single bit. How sad is that? I've thought about it often and had some ideas pop up in my brain, but never did anything with it. I'm praying that this will be the year I get off my arse and get it done. Please pray with me...


Something new in my life is that I have returned to school full-time. Without a job, what else am I supposed to do? Clean? I think not!! lol  Anyway, I'm studying to earn my Bachelor's degree in Accounting. So far I have an overall GPA of 3.97 and have been on the Dean's list both quarters.  I have just started my third quarter and find that I'm actually enjoying most of the work. Who knew? I actually have class tonight and they like to pick on me in there because I demand straight A's out of myself. If I'm not going to put my full effort into it... why bother? They call me an over-achiever in there which is funny because I've always been such an under-achiever. I'll get just good enough at something to quit. Not this time. I will finish my degree this time and it will be with all, or mostly, A's!!

So, subscribe and check back often (I've set reminders on my iPhone that I love so much to blog!) to see what's going on in my life and what I'm reading or listening to or cooking or, maybe, even sewing!! :-)


In His Love,

Mel